The Wisdom of Crowds
HR practitioner Paul Knoch reviews The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki. He finds that while the book is a bit heavy on theory and light on real-life examples, the examples that are provided are revealing and the book raises the important question of whether businesses should look beyond a small field of experts or managers when making decisions.
Remember the game-show sensation “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Contestants vied for a prize of one million dollars by answering a series of questions correctly. The questions started out fairly easy and became increasingly difficult. When stumped, a contestant could choose from three “lifelines” for help. One lifeline removed half of the possible answers, leaving the contestant with a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly. Another lifeline allowed the contestant to call a more knowledgeable friend and ask for help. The third lifeline simply polled the audience. If you watched the show, you may recall that the audience was almost always right.
It isn’t often that I read a business management book that I can’t stop talking about, but I absolutely loved 
by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson is a fascinating book. It consists of around 100 chapters, each two or three pages long, with some cool illustrations. As you can tell from the title, the authors’ goal is ambitious: to change the way companies work, including HR departments. Their ideas are heretical. But as George Bernard Shaw once said, “Every truth started out as a heresy.”
, author Rebecca Shambaugh reminds us that even after years of awareness-raising statistics and studies, women remain grossly underrepresented in the top executive earners. In her book, she attributes this not to the time-honored standards of the old-boy network or the invisible glass ceiling. Rather, she blames what she calls “self-imposed career blocks” that prevent women from moving up. She labels these collectively as a “sticky floor” and challenges women to empower themselves by overcoming these seven career-limiting obstacles.
by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (the authors that brought you 
). The book recounts the story of a plant called Walton Works #2, and the imminent plant closure and layoffs of its 1500 employees. Desperate to save the factory, General Manager Peggy Sinclair learns a new technique, called “Gung Ho,” from finishing department manager Andy Longclaw. As Peggy learns the technique, she applies it to Walton Works #2, ultimately resulting in saving the factory, increasing productivity, and creating unbelievable enthusiasm amongst the employees.
, the newest book by 
and 
author Jim Collins.
by Harry Paul (Ken Blanchard Companies & coauthor of 
) and Ross Reck, Ph.D. (management consultant & coauthor with Paul of 
)
Keith Ferazzi’s latest book 
argues that the the value of life is in candor and honest relationships. But many people can’t get there, for reasons rooted both in our reptile brains and in corporate policies.
, Margaret Morford sets out six principles to guide managers through tough workplace decisions. The principles are simple and concise:
, employee communications experts Susan Drake, Michelle Gullman, and Sara Roberts offer case studies of internal marketing successes and failures and strategies that companies can apply to their own internal marketing programs.
